


From Here to Anywhere

by NanakiBH



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Family, Future Fic, Happy Ending, Incest, M/M, World Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 07:25:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3928045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They departed from this life and bought a ticket to the next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Here to Anywhere

**Author's Note:**

> I know you're going to ask what's going on in the end and the answer is Reve Unitia. This is certainly one of the most indulgent things I've ever written, but shhh... Just go with it. It feels so good.

Almost constantly, they ask him if he's alright. They should know the answer, but they keep nodding to themselves and patting each other on the back whenever they earn a smile from him, like a single moment of happiness will be all it takes to close the wound in his heart that's still fresh, still bleeding. He didn't talk much before, so it doesn't feel that different now when he keeps his feelings to himself.

A little more, he tells himself, a part of him looking forward to moving ahead.

Somewhere over that bridge...

They question his recklessness in battle with concerned glances, hesitantly making awkward jokes about it. The truth is, he doesn't care now. There's a weight he can abandon called self-preservation. Once it's gone, he realizes that his feet glide, he flies into battle, his hammer feels light even as it slams heavily into their enemies. Fear is gone and replaced with anticipation and anxiousness. They probably wonder why he smiles as monsters' blood hits his face, why he looks so happy as he steps nearer to what they must be thinking of as an uncertain ending.

But he knows. There's only one ending, despite the number of alternatives he's considered. He knows what must be done.

Elle is waiting for him.

And somewhere beyond there, a little farther...

It isn't hard at all now, this decision.

Elle doesn't want him to leave, but he holds her, letting her feel this body one last time before he submits himself to the end. If they're truly the same, then she'll understand – if not now, then soon. This path is just one of many, and he's simply stepping onto one of the millions of others.

As he leaves, he turns and sees her smile and warmth fills his heart because he knows that she'll be okay.

* * *

Inside the light, he's met with a slight uneasiness. The landscape stretches out before him as an infinite white, like a canvas yet to be painted. It's a little less frightening when he thinks about it that way, so he thinks about what he'd like to paint it with, what colors he'd choose, whose face he'd like to see.

The ground beneath his feet becomes green. The sky blazes like the twilight. It's there when he opens his eyes, surrounding him, like it had always been there and he just hadn't noticed. He begins to walk again, his step becoming more confident as his ears are met with a nostalgic melody. On the nights when it was too difficult for him to find the strength to continue, he tried to sing it to himself, but it only made him sadder. Hearing it now opens the wound anew, and tears that sparkle in the light fall silently down his cheeks.

At the top of a faraway hill bathed in the setting sun's amber light, he sees a familiar silhouette, and suddenly it's impossible to hold still. He runs, breath skipping on a sob he holds back, chasing the image that feels too much like a dream to be real. The silhouette moves, turns, and he's sure that it isn't just a shadow or an illusion or a trick of his own wishful prayers because the smile he sees is the same as the one he remembers.

He falls into his arms with his full weight, and Julius holds him. As Ludger wraps his arms around him and presses his face into his shoulder, the nights without him catch up with him. Julius lets him finally cry as he wants, rubbing his back comfortingly as he continues to hum the song he'd put him to sleep with as a child. He could've been sleeping. This perfect world is so like a dream, but it's here, right where he expected to find it on the other side of the bridge.

When his tears stop, Julius laughs and says that he hadn't expected to see him so soon.

It hadn't been that long, but there's so much that Ludger wants to tell him, so much he wants to know, so many things he wants them to share.

* * *

The fragrant smell of something good fills the tavern, pulling in curious folks from the village and travelers from distant places alike. He uses one of his knives to flip the other in the air, catches it in his opposite hand, and slices the perfectly-seared fish with blinding, expert speed. The customers who'd been watching clap for his tricks, and he accepts their compliments with some embarrassment, but he's not here to perform. This kitchen is his business now, his life.

A little girl with a dusty tail and pale ears comes running around the counter and launches herself at his legs. He would've collapsed before, but he's used to this now. Even the customers seem impressed with the way he's able to keep their trays from flying out of his hands when she makes impact. When he looks down, he catches the look she's giving him, so he knows that he'll have to add an extra fish and some tomatoes to the grill.

Feeding family is just as important as feeding the customers.

He nudges past five of the cats that are wandering the tavern, balancing the trays as he makes his way to the long table at the middle of the room where a friendly group of hungry hunters wait for their food. She stays close, following him everywhere just like their hundred cats, linking her tail with his to keep them from being separated among all the people.

It's as loud as ever, but everything seems to become a little quieter, a little brighter when the door opens.

Hauling a net full of fish over his shoulder, Julius enters and lifts a hand to greet him. His pale ears twitch as he sends him a smile from the doorway.

As soon as she sees him, she lets go of his tail and runs between the people, and Julius doesn't have the opportunity to steady himself before she's throwing herself at his legs, too.

This world is...

Yes.


End file.
